Tuesday, March 30, 2004
They've finally posted the results from the 2004 Shamrock Run, and my official time is as follows:- Name: MOON, BRIAN
- City: PORTLAND OR
- Age: 39
- Sex: M
- Time: 35:07
- Pace: 11:19
- Div: M3539
- Divpl / Ttl: 92 / 115
- Sexpl / Ttl: 785 / 976
Whoo-hoo! I think a sub-12-minute pace is pretty good for my first event. The rest of the numbers I don't really care about right now.
I made it:
One hundred seventy-four and a half pounds this morning.
Feels pretty good. Another milestone, another goal reached. I should be happy.
Monday, March 29, 2004
...Dammit, I was going to post something but I forgot what it was.
It was short and sweet, and quite possibly funny. But now it's gone.
Ah, well, time for work. Bleh.
Sunday, March 28, 2004
Another beautiful Sunday. Looks like spring is here.
I had a meeting with a client this morning at a coffee shop in my neighborhood (plug: the Ugly Mug, at SE 13th and Nehalem, which is also a free wireless node through Personal Telco Project). After the meeting, I wanted to head downtown, so I walked from there, along the Springwater Corridor trail on the east bank of the Willamette.
The trail is 3.8 miles from the Sellwood Bridge to the beginning of the Eastbank Esplanade, so I figure it's at least 5 miles total from my house to downtown. I did that distance, walking, in about two hours, and I wasn't hurrying. To run it I should be able to do it in... I don't know... an hour and a half? Is that optimistic?
It would be the farthest I've ever run at one time. But I'm getting used to overcoming previous milestones...
Saturday, March 27, 2004
I'm feeling down on my diet this week. I was going to allow myself an extra 200 calories per day (for a total daily limit of 1800), but I ended up at least 200 calories over that, even. My weight has remained steady all week. My experiment in engineering a "soft landing" to my ideal weight was a bust.
At least my weight didn't go up. That would have been even more depressing.
So, next week, I'm sticking with the 1800 calories per day, instead of upping it another 200 calories, and hopefully my willpower will return.
Maybe I was simply affected by spring break... Yeah, that's it.
Exercise, I did pretty good. I did hear from "coach" this week, and she proposed a schedule close to what I was planning for myself, at least time- and distance-wise, although she advised against the 5-mile run I was planning.
Also except she included swimming on one of my non-running days. I planned on doing the swimming, but decided against it at the last minute. No, really, last minute.
Would you believe I decided against it at the last hour? Last day?
You caught me: I decided against it as soon as she proposed it. I haven't told her yet, but if she reads this page she'll know.
But I ran three easy runs, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, of two, three, and three miles each. Monday was in my neighborhood, and the others were along the Esplanade. Todays run was good; it was pouring down rain last night, so I was worried I'd end up running in the gym, but this morning dawned without precipitation. There was even some blue sky up there.
I have no idea what my time was. Maybe I should invest in a watch or something. Nah, I'm just happy right now to be able to complete the course I set for myself.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" again. Had to go back and see it to catch all the subtleties I missed the first time around. I'm not going to give anything away here, but this is a movie that invites multiple viewings; it's not just about figuring out the tricks, it's actually deep.
Wonderful, wonderful movie. And Beck's song only adds more layers to the meaning.
Sadly, the tale of the little shipment that went to Deutschland has nearly come to a close.
The tracking information page shows that it actually made it to Portland today, in time to be delivered. I wasn't in the office when it was here, but the receptionist, having been briefed by me, refused the shipment and it is now on it's way back to its point of origin.
Once it's there, the major online retailer will issue me a credit, and the story will draw to a close. They have not responded to the email I sent them yesterday, and now there seems to be no point to their responding at all. But it would have been great if they had at least acknowledged that there had been a major screw-up. If I was pushier and had more time, I'd harrangue them for a credit over and above what they owed me; after all, it wasn't just an inconvenience to me, it caused problems for my client (and actually cost me money, since I could have charged her my hourly fee for installing Windows 2000).
I dunno. I'm going to wait and make sure that I actually get my credit. Story's close to finished, but not quite done.
It's apparent, though, that I will never know exactly what happened. I'm dying of curiosity.
The universe must be trying to tell me something.
Two days ago I met a friend for coffee, and after she ordered, I ordered a small (12 oz) soy chai tea. Well, the barrista there is cute, so I flirted with her, and when she made my drink, she gave me a medium instead, without offering an explanation beyond a wink.
I really was only counting on the calories from the small, but, since Mrs. Moon didn't raise an impolite son, I accepted with a "thank you" and drank it. It was gooooood.
Well, this morning, I was at yet another coffee shop (Portland is the center of the microbrew beer and coffee shop craze, nevermind what Seattle says), and once again ordered my usual small soy chai. The girl behind the counter is also cute, so I flirted with her, too, and sure enough, when I went around to the bar to pick up my drink, I'd gotten a medium.
I think the lesson here is that flirting is bad for my diet.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
I replied to the major online retailer with whom I am engaged concerning a shipment gone terribly, terribly awry:
I emailed your company today regarding this order, and pointing out that, even though the package originated in the US, and was to be shipped to a US address, it has somehow ended up in Germany.
I am not making this up.
Here is the UPS tracking number so that you can confirm for yourself:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Your company's response to this was to ask me to refuse the shipment when it arrives.
I have several problems with this. First, since the package has gone on a European vacation, I have no idea if and when it will arrive. Let me repeat that: I have absolutely no assurances that the package (for which I paid for 2nd day air shipping) will return to the country of origin.
Second, since your company will not refund me the purchase price of this order until YOU receive it back, that means that I am out the approximately $260.00 that I paid for the software and the assurance from your company that I would receive it two business days after ordering it. Again, the time this will take is uncertain. I am not pleased by this.
At first, I was willing to give your company the benefit of the doubt. However, your dismissive response has angered me, and now I expect that this matter has gone beyond a simple matter of a return.
I expect a more personal response to this extraordinary matter. I await your correspondence.
Brian Moon
I can't wait for the response to this.
Update on the shipment that's taking the long way:
The major online retailer (or, more correctly, their Customer Service) has emailed me back, telling me to refuse the shipment. That, they say, is "the easiest way to return the shipment without having to arrange for it to be shipped back".
Couple of problems here. First, the shipment is still in frickin' Germany and stalled at some point. There's no telling when it will get its passport cleared or whatever and make the long trek back to the States. Heck, for all I know, it's getting plastered on shot after of shot of schnapps, or, mythical-supreme-being forbid, Jagermeister in some sleazy dive bar, instead of waiting patiently while UPS uniformed mechanics work feverishly 'round the clock to repair the "mechanical failure" that's preventing the cargo plane from lumbering down the runway and back Stateside.
It would be so easy at this point to blame terrorists. Imagine that? A cargo plane being hijacked by German separatists or something? Nah, there's really no way to tie politics into this little story at all. My life may be cool, but it's not that cool.
Where was I..? Oh, right. Second, while clicking around the website of the major online retailer, I managed to click a link that made the major online retailer that I wanted to return the package. Oopsie. So, today, a UPS driver arrived to pick up the package. Yeah, that one: the package that hasn't arrived yet. And, of course, I wasn't there, so the receptionist was confused and almost gave the UPS driver yet another package I'm sending back (this one a GPS unit I'd bought on eBay that didn't work), which would have caused even more confusion. Luckily, I managed to dodge a bullet on that one, and the UPS driver didn't pick up the wrong package.
But it looks like UPS is going to be back tomorrow, to pick up the package that hasn't arrived yet.
And, meanwhile, FedEx hasn't picked up the second package.
My life? Shipment hell. Thankyouverymuch.
Sent the following email to the major online retailer I mentioned yesterday:
I ordered Win2K Pro from your company last week early on a Wednesday. I paid extra for 2nd-day Air shipping, expecting to receive it before that weekend. I am a computer consultant and was ordering this product as an upgrade for a client. However, due to some bizarre mix-up at UPS, the shipment (which started in Delaware and was to be shipped to Oregon) ended up in Germany.
I am not making this up. Here's the tracking number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I have made other arrangements with my customer, but need to return the copy I ordered from you. However, I am unable to do so because the package STILL has not arrived. It would be easiest for me if you simply cancel the shipment and refund my purchase price. I do not want to have to deal with waiting for the package to arrive, then turning around and shipping it back to you. Please do your best to make this happen, and keep me informed as to the status of my request. Thank you.
I'll post any response I get from them regarding this. I find this most amusing.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
I have to post this. I ordered some software last week from a major online retailer, for a client, and paid extra for 2nd day air so I would have it by the weekend.
Well, Friday rolled around, and no software, so I checked the website to see what was up:
Ship Method: UPS Second Day
Tracking Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Status: IN TRANSIT
Shipment Date: Mar 17, 2004
Destination: Portland, OR, United States
Order ID: XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX
Date Time Location Service Area Checkpoint Details
Mar 23, 2004 01:37:56 AM KOELN (COLOGNE) DE HUB SCAN
Mar 23, 2004 01:34:20 AM KOELN (COLOGNE) DE HUB SCAN
Mar 22, 2004 06:51:42 PM MAIA PT HUB SCAN
Mar 22, 2004 08:06:00 AM MAIA PT ROUTED INCORRECTLY AT UPS FACILITY;PKG HAS BEEN REROUTED TO DESTINATION
Mar 22, 2004 08:03:00 AM MAIA PT UPS INTERNAL ACTIVITY CODE;FORWARDED TO DESTINATION
Mar 22, 2004 06:11:54 AM MAIA PT FLIGHT DELAY FOR MECHANICAL REASONS
Mar 22, 2004 04:38:22 AM MAIA PT HUB SCAN
Mar 22, 2004 03:45:14 AM MAIA PT HUB SCAN
Mar 19, 2004 12:19:08 AM KOELN (COLOGNE) DE HUB SCAN
Mar 18, 2004 12:25:13 AM PHILADELPHIA PA US LOCATION SCAN
Mar 17, 2004 11:54:00 PM PHILADELPHIA PA US UNLOAD SCAN
Mar 17, 2004 11:09:00 PM PHILADELPHIA PA US ARRIVAL SCAN
Mar 17, 2004 10:17:00 PM NEWARK DE US DEPARTURE SCAN
Mar 17, 2004 06:58:52 PM New Castle DE USA SHIPPED
Mar 17, 2004 06:07:12 PM NEWARK DE US ORIGIN SCAN
Mar 17, 2004 02:32:38 PM US BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED
Would you believe... it was in Germany! Funny, that. It shipped from Newark, Delaware, and was being shipped to Portland, Oregon. How it ended up in Germany I'll never know.
On top of that, the flight back to the US was delayed for mechanical reasons.
And on top of that, the client has since changed their mind about upgrading. So I'll have to fight for a refund on it. Hopefully the fact that it's been so badly misrouted will help my case.
Monday, March 22, 2004
Public service announcement:
If you're home sick, but you planned on running today, do not succumb to the urge to go running anyway.
Bad. Bad. Bad.
Sunday, March 21, 2004
As of tomorrow morning, I get 200 more calories to eat each and every day.
Since I'm so close to my goal, I'm slowly adding calories back into my diet, so that the pounds don't slowly add themselves back to my body.
It's kind of interesting, actually. For the past four weeks I've lost an average of 3 lb. per week, which, at 3500 calories per pound, equals 10,500 calories per week. Since I've allowed myself 1650 calories per day, in a week I've taken in 11550 calories.
If you then add those two numbers together (the ones I burned, and the ones I consumed), then my total calorie needs for my current activity level is... drumroll, please...
3150 calories!
That seems like a lot, doesn't it? Makes me wonder if I'm making a math error somewhere. But I don't think so... I'm pretty active lately, with the running and the swimming and the cycling and the stair-climbing and all that.
So, that's what it would take for me to maintain my weight. Which, after four weeks of calorie-counting, and the previous months of Atkins dieting, seems like an incredible feast. It's twice as much food as I've been getting.
Therefore, I don't want to jump back up to that level. I'll add 200 calories per day and increase by another 200 calories next week, until I'm closer to the 3150 calories per day level that seems like my balance point.
When I started the diet, it took time for my body to start shedding pounds; likewise, there will be a resistance to my body achieving a stable weight. But if I suddenly were to double the calories I took in, that would cause a spike in my weight, and tip the balance back the other direction (that direction being "gaining weight").
I'll probably still count calories for a while, though, at least until I get used to estimating how much I need to eat to maintain my weight. I'm learning a new skill!
But, tomorrow, what to do with those 200 calories? The possibilities are endless!
Mini-rant: Telemarketers are getting around the Federal Do-Not-Call list by claiming they're "just doing a survey". I've gotten three such calls in the past week, and they just laugh when I tell them that a) I'm on the Federal DNC, and b) they're calling a cell phone (my home number forwards to my cell phone). They say they're still within the law.
*grumble, grumble*
My "coach" is in Nevada visiting family this week, so I'm kind of on my own setting a schedule. When I talked to her last week, though, she said that I'd be getting back to running, so I'm going to include some running.
Last week, which I didn't post here, was all cross-training; no running. Which, as difficult as it seems, was actually difficult to me. My friends noticed a certain edginess in me, which I mainly attributed to the lack of running. Weird. The cross-training was mostly upper-body stuff, swimming, and cycling. It was supposed to help me heal my sore hamstring, which I think it has succeeded in doing.
The main problem (have I mentioned this before?) is that my legs are of unequal length; my right is about a half-inch longer than the left, which is going to cause me problems unless I get some kind of orthotic correction. Bleh.
Anyway, next week I'm going to run three days, and do some other workout (probably upper-body) twice, and take two rest days. I figure two "short" runs of 2-3 miles, and one long run of 4-5 miles. Should be fun...
It's getting harder to fit in my exercise, since I'm getting busier and busier. For one thing my side business is picking up Might just be a spring break seasonal thing, but I'm hoping it's more of a trend caused by word-of-mouth: the more customers I get, the more they tell others about me, which generates more customers.
Better and better. It's easier to take the shit at work when I know there are people who will gladly pay me more than twice my hourly rate to do the same stuff. And I'm good at the basic stuff, and also friendlier than the average tech.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" last night. I've been waiting for this movie to come out for months now. Charlie Kaufman is an amazing writer, having written "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", all of which I thought were excellent. And, from the previews of "Eternal Sunshine", showing scenes of bizarre contrasts (and Kirsten Dunst dancing in her underwear), overlaid with the perfect choice of music, ELO's ridiculously over-the-top ode to optimism "Mr. Blue Sky", all hinting at the underlying premise, I realized that Mr. Kaufman is now doing in film what Phillip K. Dick was doing in novels 30, 40, even 50 years ago. It's about time movies caught up with the printed word.
The premise is simple to describe, but carries a lot of depth and room to explore: Joel and Clementine (played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet), having had a bad breakup, each decide to undergo a procedure where their painful memories of each other are erased. The movie is told from Joel's point of view, and as he slowly loses both the good and the bad memories of Clementine, he has second thoughts, and struggles, from within his own mind, to stop or reverse the process.
The incredible depth of feeling shown by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in their roles is contrasted with the goofiness of the technicians performing the erasure; those scenes, with Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Wilkinson as the creator of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (goddamn Kaufman comes up with great names!), distract needlessly from the story I most wanted to see, although Kaufman does tie it back together at the end.
But the few sour notes (like Kirsten Dunst's character and her subplot) do not take away from the painful beauty of watching Joel re-live his relationship with Clementine, peeling back the rotten outer layers and revealing the quiet moments of love and awkward beginning of her coming into his life. Anyone who has fallen in love and watched it fall apart can empathize with the lovers on screen; laughing at their giddy highs and wincing at their spiteful bickering.
When Dr. Mierzwiak asks Joel to collect everything that reminds him of Clementine, my first reaction was astonishment; when someone has been that close to you, it seems that everything can carry a reminder of that person. How could someone quantify every connection they had with a lover? Because, oftentimes, it's not just small mementos or trinkets or cards that are the vector of a relationship; it's also places, certain streets or cafés... or even songs or singers or actors... or even concepts, ideas... You get the idea. Our lives intertwine with the other to the point that extracting them from our lives is impractical, possibly even unrealizable. But Dr. Mierzwiak treats this as just a simple step in his process of exorcism, and Joel's earnest acceptance of this reflects the characters' naïeveté.
Of special note is watching Joel enlist his memory of Clementine in his quest to save his memories of her. It's treated in an almost off-hand way, but I immediately picked up on it (all those PKD stories have prepared me for this type of plot twist, I think. I miss you, Phil). Is Joel interacting with just his memories, or is this, in fact, the "real" Clementine? Since, back in the "real" world, Clementine has also undergone this process, did she, also have doubts once she started to lose Joel? There is obviously some connection between the lovers, but is that a mundane material connection of having shared some time together... or is there something more that links the two, even to the point of existing, in some small way, in each other's heads, that allows them to join forces and counter the erasure?
Brilliant. I will see this movie again.
This movie is Most Highly Recommended.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Something I've recently become aware of, due to my better physical condition and all the running I've been doing: my right leg is longer than my left one. By a significant amount. I'm having a devil of a time measuring my own legs, but as near as I can tell, there's at least a half-inch to an inch difference.
I first noticed it on the elliptical trainer; the right pedal would travel farther in its arc than the left one. Then, after the last time I ran Terwilliger I started having pain in my right hamstring, which "coach" warned me not to ignore.
So... trouble. Dammit.
New on the "Barely tolerating" list today:
- Phone droids who can only read from a script -- I had to call a famous national shipping company today, to try to find out either why my package hadn't arrived yet, or to try to arrange other shipping options, and the person on the other end of the phone (and I use that term generously) sounded more like a computerized voice than a real human being. Whenever I tried to engage "her" in conversation I could hear the ruffling of papers as she tried to find her lines... so frustrating.
- Able-bodied people who insist on using the button to open doors for them -- Several of the buildings I support have those buttons next to their doors, marked in blue with the stick figure in a wheelchair, intended for opening doors for folk who are either in a wheelchair or on crutches, or otherwise can't open the doors for themselves. I've seen delivery men use them when they've got a cart full of packages or their hands full. But what in the name of Hel of the Helheim hell hall is up with people using the button just because they're frickin' lazy? It's entirely possible that some of the folk I'm judging to be able-bodied have some form of disability invisible to the eye, but I swear on Odin's missing eye that a large majority of the people entering my place of work use that damned button, and they can't all be disabled.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Team Saponified
Below is the team picture for Team Saponfied, taken immediately after the 2004 Shamrock Run. Click on the image to be taken to the image in the Picture Gallery.From left to right, that's your friendly blogger (Brian Moon), Caleb Phillips, and Becky Llanes.
First, I understand that fat cells never (or rarely) ever die. They grow and shrink, but you never really change the number of cells you have during your adult life.
Second, I understand that fat cells are where your body stores toxins and poisons and other gunk that doesn't get filtered out by your liver.
Third, it's my understanding (as well as making logical sense, assuming the above two assertions are true) that when someone diets, their fat cells dump the poisons and toxins along with the fat. It's a side-effect of dieting that I've read of in several books.
Lastly, I've been fat for at least my entire adult life.
That all being the case, then during this whole process of shrinking from 225 to under 180 lbs (or for that matter, from 240 in August 2000, my highest weight ever), I've been dumping, along with the weight, poisons that I have carried around with me for my entire life.
I don't know if it's scientifically true... but I'd like to think it's metaphorically true.
So in many ways, I am, in fact, a brand-new person. Or at least, cleaner. I've shed more than weight; I've rid myself of past hates and fears... At least.
I feel... great. Amazing, in fact. I don't want to leave behind my past; it's what made me what I am. But there are certain parts of "the old Brian" that I am not going to miss at all.
This is apparently all part of my adjusting self-image. Brian is dead... long live Brian.
One hundred and seventy-eight and a half pounds!
Roly-poly macaroni!
To be honest, I had my doubts that I would ever get this far; this all seemed like such a distant goal. I was so used to being over two hundred pounds that I simply couldn't imagine myself ever being in this great of shape. And, in retrospect, I haven't really had to deprive myself of very much. The Atkins diet made the first month or two easy (and, over Christmas vacation (in sunny Puerta Vallarta) I even cheated quite a bit! The hotel had gooooooooooooood desserts...), and after I reached a plateau on Atkins, I was worried because of the horror stories I had heard about "going back" on carbs -- tales of people gaining all their weight back in a short time after reintroducing bread into their diet.
But I switched to counting calories, and, lo and behold, I'm still losing weight. There's no magic to the Atkins diet, I'm convinced; it's just another way to limit calories. Think about it; when someone sits down and binges on food, it's always carbs; chips, bread, candy. There's simply no way to "binge" on pounds and pounds of steak, for example. You get the "I'm full, stop eating" signal long before you've taken in too many calories. Carbs don't seem to have that effect, or have it so slow that it's a simple matter to go overboard in a short time.
Exercise-wise, I've been taking the past couple of days off from formal exercise. I strained a hamstring last week, and it was still sore during the race, so "coach" says to take a few days off from running. I'm still walking a lot (had a side job last night and walked the couple of miles from there to home, for example) and taking the stairs at work (up and down the stairs in two buildings of seven and eight stories), but I'm itching to get back into the gym or onto the streets.
I'm going to take the money I made last night at my side job ($80) and use it to buy some new running shoes. I'm planning on doing one run per month through the end of summer, aiming for an 8K or 10K by the end of summer. There's the Bridge-to-Bridge in April, the Cinco de Mayo 5K, and the Mt. Tabor Challenge in June. Which is where one of my friends did his initial training, explaining a lot of his speed! Well, that and his long legs. Nothing like training on the slopes of a volcano to help your legs get strong...
Sunday, March 14, 2004
I did it!
I finished the race. I have no idea what my time was; things got confusing at the end. Right before the end, I went past a guy with a stopwatch who was calling out the time, and he said something like 33 minutes or so, but then we got to the finish gates and we all slowed to a crawl. OK, we slowed to a walk, but still, it felt like a crawl. I wanted to finish, dammit!
Most important, however, I finished right behind the guy dressed as a pint of Guinness. My friend, who had been passed (on a hill, no less) by the beer guy last year, managed to finish before the beer this year. His personal best!
Sadly, I didn't get many pictures. My friends girlfriend was going to be the photographer, but sometime last week she decided she was going to run instead of spectate, so, no pictures. Oh, well.
Saturday, March 13, 2004
I am currently wearing size 34 inch waist 501s!
When I started this diet back in November I wore a 38 inch waist. And it was getting snug. At the time I thought that it would be nice to get down to a 36 inch waist, a comfortable 36 inches, where my gut wouldn't hang over my belt and I cut my circulation off when I sat down.
Little did I realize just how much I could lose on this diet. In the store today, I actually tried on a 33 inch waist pair of jeans, just to see how they fit, and they were a bit snug but still do-able. In the mirror, I could almost see my future...
I'm still a bit amazed. I was so impressed that I bought two pairs of pants when I only intended to buy one. And in a month or two these pants will be baggy.
I'm wearing size medium shirts, and 34 inch waist pants. I'm the incredible shrinking man. Here's hoping I don't have to fight a spider with a sewing needle.
Consider my mind boggled.
Friday, March 12, 2004
Walking back to my office tonight, I passed by a wide stairwell leading up to some offices. The railings are long and straight, and have no finials on them, so they're perfect for skaters and rollerbladers. And this was demonstrated on this occasion by a) a sign posted that said "Absolutely no skateboarding or rollerblading" and b) a crowd of five or six teenage boys, all wearing rollerblades.
Walking alongside me was a tall (over six foot) gentleman, wearing a bullet-proof vest over a t-shirt and jeans, mirrorshades, holstered pistol and carrying an official-looking radio. Not a cop, necessarily, probably more like a parole officer or plainclothes officer coming back from a bust.
I was amused by the idea that the kids were actively disobeying the law in some kind of protest, so I looked at them and asked, "Is this an act of civil disobedience?" I would have actually been proud of them for it. That would have taken a lot of guts to pull off, and since both the sign and their presence was so blatant, it appeared at first glance to be their intent.
"Would have"... "appeared to be"... I should have known better.
As soon as I asked them that, they all stared at me with a blank, but faintly hostile gaze. I actually heard the gears and chains clanking in their heads as they processed the unfamiliar words I had used, came up empty, and decided that since they didn't understand me, that I must be insulting them.
"Hey, fuck you, asshole" one of them (the "alpha") started, and the rest of them chimed in with their own unoriginal epithets at me. I shook my head and laughed. Idiots. I might have had some respect for them. Turns out they were just some dumb kids.
Meanwhile, the official looking gent in the kevlar and weapon of individual destruction took an interest. He saw that the kids were loitering and breaking the law, and were insulting an adult (can't have that!) so he turned away and pulled out his radio, made a call.
I kept walking, but still heard the vested mook say to the kids, "I think you should go now. The cops are on their way. I called a car. You'd better get moving" in a dull but vaguely authoritative voice. The boys sized up their opponent and most of them decided to wait it out. They weren't going to be scared off by someone not sporting a badge.
Maybe they were actively breaking the law in order to protest it? One scrawny lad, though, found the better part of valor and hopped down off the stairs and rolled away, ahead of me. I tried to get his attention again, "Hey, kid, I wasn't insulting you. Don't you know what civil disobedience is?"
He just looked back at me, still as vacant as a blocked writers' Word document, exactly as if I had been speaking Urdu, and kept skating away. I had to chuckle.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
I did it!
I ran all the way from Duniway Park up to the Charthouse, and back down again!
Today was such a glorious day anyway, I was looking forward to my run all day long. Sometimes nervous (can I do it?) and sometimes confident. The weather has been perfect all week long; warm and sunny. And it's contributed to my mood a lot! I am so ready for this race, and everything that lies beyond it. I wish I could bottle up the past six days, as insurance against the doldrums that plagued me all fall and winter. Granted, not all of that depression was my fault. Still...
Anyway, I've got this great new body. I'm in the best shape of my entire life.
And I want to share...
Diet/exercise update:
I changed my daily calorie count to 1600 (down from 1700), in the hope that it would break the plateau I had reached, and it appears to have worked. My weight is once again dropping, and this morning I weighed in at 181. I'm so very close to my goal now...
Still training for the Shamrock Run (on Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!) Yesterday was a rest day, Tuesday I did a lower-body workout and 30 minutes on the bike. I tried to use every lower-body machine in the gym. Would you believe almost all? How about some?
I did leg curls (both pushing and pulling), squats, hip abductor and inductor, inclined stomach crunches. Hmm... that doesn't seem like a lot. But the backs of my calves still feel sore.
Tonight I'm going running up Terwilliger, 5 miles round-trip. All the way up to the Chart House and back down to Duniway Park. Should be fun. And by "fun" I mean "painful but good for me in the long run" sense (pun intended).
I found a cool website that lists various places to run, called, subtly enough, Running Places. (The link is to the Duniway Park page) According to them, it's 4 km from Duniway Park to the Chart House -- 8 km round-trip would be 4,97 miles.
Monday, March 08, 2004
"Coach" made a change to my workout this week:
Let's change Friday's workout to 35 minutes with 4x 200m pick-ups. That
should be sufficient.
She also suggested a different warmup for me before the race:
To be ready to race, I think this would be a good warm-up:The entire warm-up should not exceed 10 minutes, and since the race starts at 7:45am, you should start your warm up at 7:25. This will give you some time before the race starts.
- Walk briskly for 4 minutes
- Easy Jog for about 2 minutes
- Do 2x 100 meter pick ups
- Walk briskly for 2 minutes
- stretch as necessary
Just wanted to note the change here for my own reference.
"Coach" suggested for today:
Monday - Run around your house where it feels good. Do a run of 40 minutes, with 3 x 400m of the pick ups. *Should be a hard effort. Really try and push the pick-ups, they are what will help you in the race... TREMENDOUSLY!!!
I ran farther than I normally do, about 2.5 miles, and I did four total sprints. I can't estimate distance (or time, for that matter) very well, so when I did the pick-ups, I ran for at least two blocks. And my total time was around 35 minutes total (I warm up by walking briskly for a couple minutes before and after). I pushed myself, and on the way back, I stopped to walk a couple of times, but for no more than half a block.
My legs felt like depleted uranium this morning, but part of it might be psychological -- for some dumb reason I gained a pound and a half today, which bummed me out. Also, I went for that long (5 mile) walk yesterday. I don't know if that's a bad thing or not...
Oh, well, I'm continuing with the program.
I'm planning on not getting into an elevator today if I can help it; and I work on the 8th floor and have to support another 7-story building. Gotta keep moving. I'm dancing in my chair right now; I haven't had this much energy in a long long time! I feel great!
Sunday, March 07, 2004
Went for a walk from my neighborhood (Sellwood) all the way downtown, around 5 miles total. There's a nature trail that runs along the east bank of the Willamette, part of the Springwater Corridor trail.I took some great pictures, since today was a beautiful pre-spring day, sunny, blue sky, and warm, and my walk started around 5 PM, right around sunset. By the time I had reached the Hawthorne Bridge, though, it was night. But that put the bridge and the city on display, also.
Here's my current desktop picture, shrunken down:
It's the Hawthorne Bridge, looking west towards downtown.
I'm going to post some more pictures later; maybe tomorrow, maybe this week. Right now, my picture gallery is "invitation-only", since there are pictures of friends and family members in there that I don't want to post publicly on the 'Net. But my plans are to make a public gallery for other visitors to my tiny waste of bandwidth, and that's where pics like the ones I took tonight will go.
Next week's running schedule, courtesy of my friend the "coach":
Monday - Run around your house where it feels good. Do a run of 40 minutes, with 3 x 400m of the pick ups. *Should be a hard effort. Really try and push the pick-ups, they are what will help you in the race...TREMENDOUSLY!!!
Tuesday- Do lower body weight workout. Like squats, leg curls, calf raises, etc. AFTER weight workout, Do 30 minutes on the bike at medium effort.
Wednesday- OFF you need the rest. Make sure and drink lots of fluids and make sure you eat a good amount of protein.
Thursday- Run Terwilliger *Goal is to go up hill 2.5 miles/down hill 2.5 Miles.
Friday- Do a 45 EASY jog, with 4 x 200m pick ups mixed in as you see fit. This should be similar to what it will be like race day!!!!!! (If you would like a race "plan" make sure and let me know how this day's workout was. Where were the hard parts? What felt easy? What felt good?)
Saturday- Today it is NECESSARY to get a SMALL amount of exercise in. You want to do a warm-up routine very similar to what you plan to do before the race tomorrow. Again, this helps with pre-race anxiety, and avoiding OVER-warming up because you are nervous. I have done that, and it makes the race rough. Make sure and drink lots of fluids.
Sunday- RACE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, March 06, 2004
After my run today (3+ miles along Portland Waterfront Park and the Esplanade), I stopped at the Virginia Cafe for some lunch. I sat in a booth in the corner, but with a view of the window. I was there a minute or two, and wasn't sure any of the wait staff had seen me come in, when the waitress approached. Tall, at least 5'10", thin, curly dark hair, what is euphemistically called a "Roman nose"... hot and she looked spunky. I've always had a thing for dark-haired women; Hispanic or Italian or any other...
As she walked up, I pointed at the table and asked her to wipe it down for me. She started to walk off to get a rag, and I interrupted her and said, "And I know what I want." She said as she walked off, "Why don't I concentrate on one request at a time?" and returned with a wet rag. As she ran the rag over the table, I said without making eye contact "Am I being a difficult customer?"
She replied, politely but quickly, "Oh, no, not at all--" and I interrupted her again by looking up at her sideways, with a deadly serious expression on my face, "Because I can get worse."
There was a brief tense moment. If my friends had been with me, they would have broken the tension by laughing nervously and apologizing for me, knowing I wasn't serious. But they weren't there, and I allowed the tension to build for a moment, and she stared at me, speechless. Finally I smirked a little and gave her a twinkle of my eye. She realized that I was kidding (but I had not apologized for my statement) and laughed, but nervously. I gave her my order (a Chicken Caesar Salad, only water to drink; I'm on a diet, after all) and she walked off.
I spread out my newspaper and started reading, but she returned almost immediately, having thought of a response to my teasing, "Honey, if you're the worst customer I've had today, it's a beautiful day!" and she tapped me on the shoulder. Smirking, I looked at her hand on my shoulder then back up at her as if to say "Why did you just touch me?" and went back to reading.
The bestbestbest part is that, for the rest of my meal, she kept trying to make conversation with me, asking me what my plans were for the day, generally making a lot of small talk. The change in her behavior was apparent to me: she was seeking my approval. I flirted back, mildly, maintaining my sense of detachment. I realized that I would probably be coming back to this place often (I really do like their salad, and their burgers are great greasy things with bacon and cheese; only drawback is the smoky atmosphere) so I decided not to try to get a name or phone number on this visit.
Last night I was sitting in Starbucks at Pioneer Courthouse Square, as I often do on a Friday night. There's free wireless internet connectivity there, and it's open until midnight on the weekends. Makes a nice break from sitting in a smoky bar. (I used to go to the café called Heaven, but they have apparently moved and closed up shop.)
Sitting next to me was a professionally-dressed woman. I judged her to be older than me, but not much older; late forties to early fifties. Red blazer, pantsuit, short-cropped hair. She looked like a real-estate agent or something. She seemed nervous and kept glancing towards the door whenever someone walked in. Waiting for someone. She even gave me a look as I sat down and pulled out my laptop, but I just smiled vaguely and got to surfin'. She wasn't my type.
Shortly after, she was approached by a man of about the same age as her. Tall, thin, almost gangly, dressed in a ski jacket and ratty jeans, uncombed hair, glasses that had seen better days. I judged him to be a geek. There's the computer-literate, and then there's... what would be a category higher than that? I guess I'll settle for "geek", because that's surely what he was.
They introduced themselves to each other, and he sat down, leaning forward, hands clasped in his lap, body language eager; she was more cautious, leaning back, arms folded across her lap, legs crossed and tilted away from him. She started the small talk with "So, what made you respond to my ad?"
Aha. A meeting arranged through the personals. Interesting. He gave some vague answer about her seeming "interesting" and they launched into small talk. I tuned them out.
Until, about ten or fifteen minutes later, I realized that the man had latched onto a subject, a topic that seemed to be an area of special study for him, although not one that I would normally associate with a first date.
He had spent at least ten full minutes talking to her about the Holocaust. Facts and figures of how many were killed. The concentration camps; he knew them all by name. Names of Hitler's lieutenants. He could go on and on. And he did.
Her body language had not changed except to slide even further towards caution and distance. She had gamely tried to stay with the conversational topic at first, but soon gave up and settled for nodding politely and murmuring "Oh, I see" and "Is that so?"
He took these obvious signs of discomfort and disinterest as encouragement and pushed onward into new depths of his discourse. I smiled to myself as I overheard this one-sided conversation. Were they, perhaps, Jewish? Or, for that matter, German? Is this a continuation from whatever correspondence they had had before meeting face-to-face? Or was this a side of each other they had not yet encountered in their brief acquaintance?
I tuned out again for a bit when the guy on the other side of me asked me to watch his newspaper and table. When I turned my attention back to the couple, the topic had slid a bit, but not too far; he was discussing his all-time favorite movie: what else could it be, but "Schindler's List"? Again, the poor passionate geek was overflowing with trivia about the movie. He compared it to other Oscar-winning movies; all others, he contended, were flawed in some crucial way and he took delight in listing many of the less-obvious criticisms. Leaving unspoken, of course, his main objection: that none of the other films were about the Holocaust.
The woman by this point had offered the phrase "Well, I really should be going" at least three times. Her patience in the face of her single-track-minded companion was admirable and evoked sympathy in me. I traded glances with the guy to my left, the guy whose table I had watched over, and he and I silently agreed that the scene to my right was at the very least funny, and more likely quite painful to hear. I wondered what I could do to distract the geek and provide an opportunity for the woman to escape. However, I did not want to insinuate myself into her attention. She, as stated before, was not my type. Still, there had to be something I could do. Had I had any coffee left, I would have tipped it "accidentally" into his lap. The thought crossed my mind that I could pretend to have a meeting with her, also. Sadly, my courage wasn't the match of my convictions, and while I wondered she managed to finally wind the geek down and steer the conversation to a close.
As they stood, he stated over and over again that he would love to see her again, drawing a quiet "mmhmm" from her and the most amazingly subtle nod/shake of her head, indicating nothing at all with any specificity. He offered to walk her to her car; she jumped to dissuade him from offering again. He didn't press the issue at all; in fact, he immediately responded by shrugging his shoulders and saying with finality (like this had happened to him before) "Well, I've got a bus to catch" and making a bee-line towards the door, not even pausing or allowing his date to go with him. She shook her head and walked out behind him, date, and her Friday plans, obviously ended.
Friday, March 05, 2004
Quick exercise/diet update:
Been doing so-so on the diet. Had a delicious lunch yesterday with some friends at La Terraza (no link for this location; here's a review of the location on SW 10th and Morrison) -- I had fettucini and pesto e pollo and it was amazingly good. It was also very expensive in terms of calories; when I calculated it later, that one bowl (and I did, in fact, eat the whole bowl in one sitting, plus bread) was at least 1100 calories. Since I'm allowing myself 1700 for the day, and had already had breakfast, I only had a snack for dinner. I couldn't calculate the exact calories, so I wanted to leave some room for erring on the high side, to keep me under my limit.
Exercise, I'm doing good. Thursday was a rest day for me (Thanks, coach!), but I still managed to take the stairs up and down several floors in the several buildings I support, in addition to carting around some PCs and monitors as part of a project, and this morning I ran over 2 miles before work, with three sprints of several blocks, and no walking. I know my coach said to do 3 miles; but I still think I'm doing OK. Tomorrow I'm running the waterfront with my slow-but-steady friend, and my goal is to keep up with him. I think -- I mean, I know I can do it.
I weighed in at 183 this morning, after remaining steady at 184 for the past few days. Onward to my goal!
Thursday, March 04, 2004
There aren't too many downsides to losing over 40 pounds of fat.
Until one considers the benefits of having insulation.
BRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Damn I've been cold lately.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
I did it!
The weather was nice yesterday, in the high 60s and sunny, but the weather today was cold and cloudy, and it rained or drizzled all day. I was not looking forward to running tonight after work, but I wanted to at least try. My friend put some effort into creating a plan for me to follow, and I believed that she wouldn't ask me to do something that was beyond me. So as soon as I got off work, I headed to the gym to change. I realized that I had been counting on warmer weather, because I had only packed a short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts. Oh, well, I figured I'd warm up once I got going.
I ran 10 minutes on the elliptical trainer to warm up, then did some weights; upper body stuff. That's when I realized that I was stalling and headed outside.
From the gym I walked about 6 blocks up to Duniway Park. I started jogging about halfway there. I went halfway around the track at Duniway, then ran up the hill. I just kept a steady but not blazing pace; my goal was to do the whole thing, up and down, at at least a jog.
Past OHSU, past the Veteran's Hospital... past the stairs where I and my friends had gone to last Monday... I just tried to zone out and not think about what I was doing. I worked out scenes for my next (unwritten) novel in my mind. Even with the clouds and slight rain, the views were great; the city spread out below. It's a pretty dramatic climb.
Past the VA hospital, it started to go downhill a bit. I kept going, until I reached a playground on the left (downhill) side of the road, with a restroom and water fountain. I stopped to take a quick drink, turned around and headed back. I kept up my steady pace. Once I had reached OHSU again, it dawned on me what I was so close to accomplishing: farther, and steeper, than I had ever gone before.
Yet another milestone for me. With more to come.
I figured I'd preserve this somewhere...
Last night on the news, I saw that Multnomah County leadership has
decided that as of 9:00 AM today, they would begin issuing marriage
licenses for same-sex couples. This, in response to the San Francisco
mayor marrying same-sex couples (was it last week? I'll have to dig up a
link).
I work for Multnomah County, in their Information Services department. I
noticed the crowds of people and news crews outside the Multnomah
Building on my way in to work (my office is downtown).
Well, after I got in, my boss called me. The computer support folk that
work in the Multnomah Building hadn't come in yet, and due to the
crowds, management wanted to set up some kind of "command post" --
probably including computers 'n' such. So my boss wanted to know if I
was available to get over to the Multnomah Building to help out.
No big deal; a fairly normal request. However, it was his off-hand
comment that caught my attention. After I had mentioned the large number
of people I had seen in front of the building, he said:
"What's wrong with those people? Don't they have jobs to get
to? Oh, well, probably making a statement or something."
Not entirely sensitive, and not entirely insensitive... but annoying. My
first reaction (which, unfortunately I did not voice) was to think that
"those people" probably consider their personal lives a bit more
important than simply working, and making this particular statement, at
this particular time in our country's history, to be particularly important.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
When I went to dig up URLs for my previous post, I saw that according to the City of Portland website, the Esplanade is 1.5 miles long. I don't know if that includes the sections on the bridges or not, but regardless, I ran at least 3 miles last night.
Whoo-HOO! Just don't tell my trainer... she said to only do 2 miles last night. Hee, hee.
Quick diet/exercise update:
Diet-wise, I'm doing great. I ended last week right on the nose, 1700 calories per day, averaged over the week. My "bonus" calories were consumed in the form of a molasses cookie from Starbucks... Mmmmmm.
Exercise-wise, also good. Went running with friends last night (see previous post) along the waterfront and the Esplanade. My "trainer" said only 2 miles, but I ran the same route as my friends, starting on the west side at Columbia, running north until the Steel Bridge, crossing the river then running south to the Hawthorne Bridge and crossing back to the west side to finish. Caleb thinks it's around 3 miles, Jake thinks it's less than that. I'm too lazy to Mapquest it, and I'm too cheap to buy a GPS. My friends being who they are, they were full of ways to figure out exactly how far it is, but it's not that important to me.
The important thing is that I did the whole distance and only spent about 2 minutes of the time walking. It's the farthest distance I've ever run; the first of many milestones in my budding running career!
And all this is just buildup to the main news... (cue drumroll)...
This morning I weighed in at 184 lbs!Go, me! I'm less than 10 pounds from my goal weight! At the rate I'm losing, I'll reach goal very soon.
Of course, as my weight drops, so does my idea of what is possible. A couple of years ago, I never would have thought that I could have done this well, but now that I'm doing it, I'm thinking that I could go even lower. Is this the beginning of an eating disorder? I'm mostly kidding... but regardless of where I end up in terms of weight, I'm pretty happy with what I've done so far. It's a huge confidence-booster for me.
This post is just for me, to keep track. A friend who is a professional runner made up a training schedule for me, to get me ready for the Shamrock Run, and instead of printing it out, I wanted it somewhere handy:
Brian,
Okay. Here is a schedule.
- Monday - Run waterfront ~ 2 miles *moderate effort
- Tuesday - Do 30 minutes elliptical and 30 minutes bike or swim (no weight bearing exercise).
- Wednesday - Run Terwilliger *Goal is to go up hill 2miles/down hill 2 miles, even at slower pace
- Thursday - OFF (if you feel a need to workout, do upper-body!!!)
- Friday - Run somewhere you like; * 3 miles. Within each mile, do 2 "bursts" of 60 seconds each. Total 6 bursts in 3 miles. *Should be a hard effort.
- Saturday - Run waterfront ~ 3 miles *easy effort (goal is to just finish the 3 miles without walking! Don't get crazy!)
- Sunday - OFF you deserve day of treating yourself nice after this week of workouts.
If anyone besides me is reading this (*tap* *tap* "Is this thing on?") Sorry for the triplicate post on Sunday. It's been fixed.
Actually, I know people other than myself are reading this; the server logs show me some referrers and search items leading to my webspace, and addresses that aren't mine hitting the site... but I don't really have the time to spend hours going over the logs. I'll just say "HI" and drop me an email if you're so inclined.
